Driven to Distraction

“You’ll shoot your eye out, kid,” Danny and I mocked the Santa Claus from A Christmas Story.

Christmas break had started four days ago for Danny and that meant he was back home for a little over two weeks. To say that I was happy to have him back was an understatement. I missed him a great deal, and I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could. Being that tonight was Christmas Eve, we were spending it watching our favorite movie of the holiday and eating all of the junk food we could stuff into our mouths.

“Dad, you’re missing the movie!” Danny shouted, calling to my dad who was busy in the kitchen.

“I’m sorry! I can’t get this damn dough to come out right.”

I laughed and stood up. “I’ll see if I can help him.”

Danny nodded his head. “When’s your little boyfriend stopping by?”

I glanced at the clock on the wall. “He should be here in just a few minutes, actually.”

He grinned. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

I laughed and threw a Tootsie Roll at his head. “Be nice.” He rolled his eyes and I walked into the kitchen, seeing my dad mixing a large bowl of flour and water with his hands. “Need some help?”

He laughed as he backed away from the bowl, letting me give the mixing a try. “Thank you, pumpkin.”

“You’re welcome,” I smiled, adding a little more water to the bowl to give it the right consistency.

“So when’s John stopping by?” he asked, wiping his hands on a dish towel.

“Uh, around eight, so any minute now.”

“Does he know Danny’s home?”

I stopped mixing and arched my brows at my dad, giving him a look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He laughed as he shrugged his shoulders. “Danny’s your older brother, Ketely. You know he’s going to give John a hard time.”

“You didn’t give him a hard time,” I argued.

He gave me a one-sided smile. “Ketely, I’ve known John since he was a little boy. I also know that you two could never get along, but obviously that has changed for some reason, and I trust your judgment of character. If you’re with John, then I trust that he is a good, young man and that he will treat you right. However, you’re still my only baby girl and if he ever breaks that heart of yours, I have a .45 that’s waiting for him in the safe.”

My face immediately became warm as I listened to his last words. “Dad …”

He laughed and placed a kiss on the top of my forehead. “Let’s hope John has sense enough to never hurt you.”

I let out a light laugh just as the doorbell sounded, causing me to jump. “That’s him!” I wiped my hands on a towel and ran to the door, ignoring the laughter coming from my dad and Danny. I opened the door and saw John smiling at me, dressed in black slacks and a red button up. “You didn’t have to get all dressed up, John.”

He looked down at his clothes, laughing. “I had a big family dinner tonight, so I had no choice.” He leaned in for a kiss, and something foul hit my nose. I immediately recognized the smell and pushed him away. “What?” he asked, looking at me innocently.

I could feel my blood boiling as I reached for the handle of the door, slamming it shut. “You reek of fucking cigarettes, John!” His face fell and I could see the guilt washing over him.

“I just had two, Ketely, I swear!”

I scoffed. “I don’t give a shit! You know how much I hate smoking! And the fact that you would smoke before coming over to my house to meet my brother, just pisses me off that much more! He’s already going to give you shit just because you’re dating me, but if he smells cigarettes on you, he’s only going to be worse. God,” I hissed, placing a hand over my forehead.

“I’m sorry, Key,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around me, the stench hitting my nostrils again. “I was just nervous about coming over and I needed something to calm me.” He placed a soft kiss on my neck, and tightened his grip on me. “Can you please forgive me?”

I sighed and wrapped my arms around him. “Do you have any cologne or spray or something?”

“I already sprayed some on,” he said, looking defeated.

I bit down on my bottom lip. “I have a few of your shirts in my room … but you can't go inside and change – they’ll know something’s going on.”

He looked down at the ground for a second before looking back at me. “I can climb up to your window and change and climb back down.”

I nodded my head. “That works! Go, go, go!” I rushed, slapping his butt to send him off.

He smirked and gave me a wink. “Kinky; I like it.”

I couldn’t help but to laugh. “Shut up and get your ass changed, O’Callaghan!”

“Right away, Miss Morrison,” he smiled before darting off to the side of the house.

I bit down on my thumb as I looked behind me, making sure that neither my dad nor Danny was looking outside. I barely caught sight of a shadow before the door opened, causing me to panic.

“What are y’all doing out here?” Danny asked, arching his brow.

“Uh, John’s just looking for something in his car,” I lied.

He squinted his eyes and tried to look out in the dark driveway. “I don’t see anyone …”

I rolled my eyes and pushed him back inside. “He’s in his car. We’ll be in, in a minute.” I closed the door again and turned around. I saw John walking towards me a minute later, and I sighed in relief. “Hurry, Danny already came outside!”

“For what?” he asked.

“I guess we were taking too long out here.”

“Just how protective is Danny?”

I laughed. “I don’t know. Why? Are you scared, O’Callaghan?”

“Never,” he grinned.

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s get inside.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him in behind me. We walked into the living room, where both my dad and brother were watching the end of A Christmas Story. “Danny, this is John. John, this is my brother Danny.”

Danny stood up straight, having a good three inches over John, and outstretched his hand. “Nice to meet you, John.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” he said, shaking his hand. I could tell by the fluctuation in John’s voice that he was nervous.

“It’s good to see you again, John,” my dad smiled.

“Same here, Mr. Morrison.”

The end credits of the movie began rolling and Danny turned the TV off, turning to John. “So, John, how old are you?”

“Danny-“ I started.

“I’m just trying to get to know my little sister’s boyfriend,” he stated, smiling widely. I rolled my eyes.

“I’m sixteen,” John told him.

“Uh huh. Do you have a job?” I narrowed my eyes at my dad, but he just held his arms up, as if to tell me it was out of his hands.

“I work at Fry’s as a stock boy.”

“What kind of grades do you make in school, John?”

John’s eyes darted toward me, and I mouthed an apology before he looked back at Danny. “I’m a ‘B’ student, I guess.”

“You guess?” Danny leaned towards him. “What do you mean ‘you guess’?”

“Danny!” I warned. He looked at my dad, who laughed.

“You’ve been overruled, Danny," he told him.

He rolled his eyes. “What are your intentions with my sister, John?”

“Uh,” John stammered, and I swore I saw beads of sweat break out on his forehead. “I – I just like her – a lot. I like being with her, and ho-hopefully our relationship can grow into something more one day.”

Danny nodded his head and rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb. “Let me tell you something, John, okay?” He waited for John to nod his head before continuing. “Ketely is my only and baby sister. We’ve been through a lot as a family, and I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Now, I know that I might be coming off as a tool, but it’s only because I want to make sure that Ketely is with someone who won’t be wasting her time. But let me warn you, you hurt her in any way, and I’ll be on the first flight out of New York. You understand what I’m saying?”

John nodded his head, looking more nervous than I had ever seen him before. “I understand.”

“Good,” Danny smiled before reaching for the remote and turning the TV on.

I sighed and stood up. “We’re gonna go upstairs.” I motioned for John to follow me and he took his sweet time getting up, watching for my brother’s reaction.

“Leave the door open, Ketely,” Danny called.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, sir,” I said sarcastically. Once we were in my room, I took a seat on my bed and John stood in the doorway. “What are you doing?” I laughed.

“Uh, I don’t know if I should be on your bed or not.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’ve never really been allowed on my bed, but has that ever stopped you before?”

He laughed and shrugged before walking over and taking a seat beside me. “So what do you want to do?” he asked before reaching for my hand and lacing our fingers together.

“Watch a movie?”

“Works for me,” he said.

I stood up and walked to my movie stand, looking through the DVDs. I finally decided on Just Friends and put it into the player. I grabbed the remote and laid down on my bed. John laid beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist, allowing me to cuddle into him.

Although we’d been in this position many times before, I couldn’t get over how amazing it felt to be wrapped in his arms.

_________________________________________________________

When the movie was over, John and I talked about anything and everything before realizing that it was one minute to midnight.

“Are you excited for Christmas?” John asked me, running his thumb over my cheek.

“I am. Last Christmas was ... a wreck. But I have a feeling that this Christmas will be different … better,” I answered honestly.

He smiled. “It’s midnight.”

“Merry Christmas, John,” I smiled, looking into his eyes.

“Merry Christmas, Ketely,” he stated before placing a soft kiss on my lips. “You know, I’ve never had a girlfriend on Christmas.”

“And why is that?”

“I’m cheap,” he shrugged. I laughed and playfully slapped his shoulder. “No, I don’t know. I told you before I’ve never really been the boyfriend type.”

I smiled and played with the ends of his hair. “I know. How does it feel, by the way – to be a boyfriend?”

“Not as bad as I thought,” he chuckled.

I laughed before letting out a yawn. “Stay until I fall asleep?”

“Of course,” he said before pulling me in closer to him.

I closed my eyes and the last thing I remember doing before falling asleep, was counting the beats of John's heart and thanking God for that beautiful sound.